Battery grip for d90 - worth it?

[wacky_dm]

Hi,

was just wondering about the pros of using a battery grip for my d90 (other than the obvious advantages like better battery life, better grip etc)... will it increase my fps in continuous mode...?

This is the link I was looking at -

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-MB-D80-Multi-Power-Battery-Digital/dp/B000HJ5N2Y/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239193743&sr=1-10
Is it worth the price...?

Also, I came across a 3rd party grip for the d90

http://www.amazon.com/Timer-Vertical-Battery-Grip-Nikon/dp/B00192NV0Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239193743&sr=1-2

the reviews dont seem too bad, and it seems to have more features than the original Nikon grip - however Im slightly wary of third party addons.. what do you think?

Thanks
DM

 

[cruzdog954]

How much battery do you need? My single battery lasts at least 2000 pictures if not more. Usually charge the battery every 2 weeks - or whenever I get near 2000 pics. The specs rate it for 4000 pictures - I believe that.

 

[wijnands]

Hi,
was just wondering about the pros of using a battery grip for my d90
(other than the obvious advantages like better battery life, better
grip etc)... will it increase my fps in continuous mode...?

This is the link I was looking at -

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-MB-D80-Multi-Power-Battery-Digital/dp/B000HJ5N2Y/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239193743&sr=1-10
Is it worth the price...?

Also, I came across a 3rd party grip for the d90

http://www.amazon.com/Timer-Vertical-Battery-Grip-Nikon/dp/B00192NV0Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239193743&sr=1-2
the reviews dont seem too bad, and it seems to have more features
than the original Nikon grip - however Im slightly wary of third
party addons.. what do you think?

More features?Well.. LCD screen with Date/time/stopwatch function.

A grip for the D80 you buy because you like the balance and added weight. Purely for battery capacity it's not worth it. A battery swap will take 30 seconds at most and the price of a grip (which tends to sell without batteries) is two or three times that of a spare battery.

--
Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/

 

[Ryan Stewart]

The nikon grip only does the obvious, no increase on frame rate.

I have the Nikon, its "pretty good." I didnt know about this 3rd party one when I got mine. The Nikon has been reliable but didnt blow me away in build quality.

I would give this one a shot if its got a functional intervalometer in it, that is a feature I would like. A radio trigger would also be brilliant if someone did that.

I think I do prefer the design of the Nikon grip over this one though. Id be willing to pay $200 for the Nikon grip if it had an intervalometer and remote trigger (even IR would work if it had a sensor on the back too).

 

[kawabunga]

I've heard that the 3rd party ones are pretty cheap feeling and that most people end up buying the Nikon grip in the end anyway. I've never used one personally but that's what I've gathered. And the people that like them, love them. The people that don't like them, hate them. Try it out and see what you think about it.

 

[wacky_dm]

thanks for the replies guys... well the "more features" bit was slightly sarcastic - I noticed the stopwatch/date function as well...

How much battery do you need? My single battery lasts at least 2000
pictures if not more. Usually charge the battery every 2 weeks - or
whenever I get near 2000 pics. The specs rate it for 4000 pictures -
I believe that.
--

you get 2000 shots from a single charge?? Wow, I dont think Ive got more than 1000... but then again I tend to use flash/live view sometimes as well... Do you use the LCD much...?

 

[prentisd]

I bought the Nikon grip for the D90 and promptly sent it back. It makes the camera a brick to hold up. It doesn't sit on a level surface without being supported by the lens. It no longer fit in my camera bags. The only advantage I can see is it makes the camera look more expensive and you don't have to overhand portrait shots. I don't have a problem with doing that for the few that I do shoot. So it had more disadvantages than advantages in my book. Back it went.
--
Prentis
http://prentis.smugmug.com